Hot On His Trail

Chapter 3

Taggert wouldn’t make it much longer, but he absolutely refused to pull over and let her drive. He braced himself over the steering wheel, his eyes trained straight ahead. They hadn’t spoken for the past fifteen minutes; Shea suspected he didn’t have the energy to talk.

He stuck to back roads that took them into Marshall County, and except for the occasional car or truck they passed, blurred by the rain, they had the wet roads to themselves.

Dean would have her hide for this, but her oldest brother was the least of her problems right now. Boone would understand, and so would Clint, though Boone would likely lay the blame for her decision to stay with Taggert on her early influences of Nancy Drew and Agatha Christie.

Shea strengthened her resolve with the selfless notion that if she didn’t help Taggert he didn’t have a chance. He’d die, either alone from his wound or when the cops caught up with him. And they would catch up with him, soon. He wasn’t thinking clearly, and he didn’t have the strength to run and hide for long. Not without her help.

If he died the truth died with him. A murderer would go free, and the courts would be satisfied that Nick Taggert was, indeed, a killer. That wasn’t right; it wasn’t justice. Together she and Taggert would search for the truth. And wow, this was going to be a great story.

Taggert turned her battered Saturn onto a long, gravel driveway. Sitting at the end, visible through the rain, sat a small house that looked very much like a log cabin. It waited for them, simple and square and solid. Welcoming lights burned, harsh on the front porch and muted through the windows.

“Who lives here?” she asked, keeping her voice low as they neared the house. Taggert didn’t answer, and her heart skipped a beat. She believed he was innocent; he’d declared it so indignantly, so righteously, and she had seen the truth in his eyes. But he had kidnapped her. What did he have planned now?

The drive circled around the house; the crunching noise the tires made on the gravel was sure to be heard by whoever waited inside. At a window near the back door a pale blue curtain fluttered. They’d been seen.

“You’re not thinking of doing anything drastic, are you?” she asked as Taggert stopped the car and put it in park. Finally, he turned his eyes to her.

He listed forward slightly with his arms resting on the steering wheel, shoulders slumped and those normally piercing eyes half-closed. “Drastic?” he repeated.

It was a rather ridiculous question, she supposed, considering what had transpired so far today. He’d escaped from the courthouse, been shot and kidnapped her. Everything had been drastic. But still… “There’s no reason to involve anyone else in this,” she said sensibly. “We can steal a car. Well, we can borrow one without asking, and leave a note or something. My purse is in the trunk, and I have a little cash, so there’s no reason—”

“You think I’m going to rob the man who lives here?” Taggert interrupted.

You heard about it on the news all the time. A convict escapes from prison and storms into someone’s home—preferably an isolated house, like this one—for hostages and money and food.

“Aren’t you?”

He managed to shake his head once, and the expression on his face changed subtly to one of disgust and maybe even disappointment. “Why don’t you take off right here, weathergirl?” he whispered. “Start walking.”

“No,” she answered just as softly.

The back door opened and bright light spilled onto the yard and the long gravel drive. An older, heavyset man stood there, squinting out into the night and waiting patiently.

Taggert threw open his door and stepped into the rain. Shea scooted across the seat, making the awkward move over the console and placing herself quickly right behind him, knowing, even if he didn’t, that he wouldn’t make it to the house under his own power. She was there to catch him when he practically fell back into the driver’s seat. Slipping an arm around his waist, she allowed him to lean on her as she stood beside him. He hesitated, and then his arm circled her lightly. Taggert was tall and hard and muscled, and in normal circumstances he would have overpowered her. But at the moment he needed her help to stay on his feet.

“He’s a friend?” she asked, and Taggert nodded once.

Relief washed through her. She should’ve known that he wouldn’t break into someone’s home like a common thief. Even in his weakened condition, Nicholas Taggert was anything but common.

He leaned on her heavily as they approached the open back door, moving slowly in spite of the rain. Her arm around his waist, and his around hers, provided unsteady but effective support. Taggert was too big; if he fell she’d never be able to get him up. After they’d taken several tottering steps the old man made his way to them and added his strength at Taggert’s other side. Shea supposed she could let go and allow Taggert’s friend to lead him inside, but she didn’t. Nick seemed to lean into her, still, so she kept her arm around his waist and canted in his direction, bracing his heavy body as best she could.

The back door opened onto a brightly lit kitchen. An oak table and four chairs sat there, and Taggert’s faltering path took him and those who were assisting him directly toward those chairs.

“Boy, can you make it to the den?” the old man asked.

“Sure,” Taggert answered weakly, and they bypassed the oak chairs and went through a wide doorway into a square, rustic room. The old man steered them toward a long, mustard-colored couch, where they deposited Taggert in a slightly awkward maneuver.

When his arm slipped from her back, the palm of his hand skimmed down her spine and across her hip, as if he needed support, still. As if he didn’t want to let her go.

Once Taggert was deposited on the couch, the old man started cussing—long, inventive, loudly delivered profanity as he removed thick, rain-splattered glasses and cleaned them on his shirttail. Taggert leaned his head back and closed his eyes until the tirade ended.

The old man took a deep breath and visibly calmed himself as he placed the glasses on his nose. “What the blue blazes were you thinking, boy? You could’ve gotten yourself killed. And kidnapping this poor lady.” He turned his head her way and squinted at her through thick lenses, even though they stood close. “Now, that was stupid.”

“I know,” Taggert said weakly, without so much as opening one eye.

“We’ll talk about it in the morning,” the old man said softly. “Right now we’ll see to that leg and get you to bed. In the morning—”

“No.” This time Taggert’s eyes did open. “We can’t stay here, Lenny. I just…I need your truck.”

“It’s yours,” Lenny said without hesitation. “And I tell you what, you leave the little lady here and I’ll see that she doesn’t call anyone or go anywhere until you’ve had a chance to get on down the road a ways.”

“Sounds good to me,” Taggert muttered.

“No.” Shea directed her denial to the man Taggert called Lenny. “I’m going with him.”

The man drew his bushy eyebrows together. “What for?”

“I’m a helluva story,” Taggert said caustically before Shea could answer. He locked his eyes on her, and in spite of his weakened condition they were cold and strong. Piercing, as if he had never known weakness. “But this is one part of the story no one ever hears, you understand me? As far as the cops are concerned we’re stealing Lenny’s truck. He didn’t see anything, we didn’t talk to him, he is not involved in this. Is that clear?”

Shea nodded, and Taggert closed his eyes once again.

Lenny looked Shea up and down once, squinting as he brought his gaze to her face. He even leaned forward slightly. “Name’s Leonard Caudel,” he said.

“Shea Sinclair,” she answered, offering her hand.

Caudel took her hand and shook it gently. “I know.” A smile bloomed on his face. “You’ve been all over the news today, young lady. I can’t see real good, but if I get close to the television I can see well enough. You’ve been on the television before. You’re the weathergirl, right?”

Before Shea could correct Caudel, Taggert laughed. It was a weak, nearly silent chuckle, and he didn’t even bother to open his eyes. “You’ve done it now, Lenny,” he whispered, and then he fell silent once again.

Shea was annoyed, but decided it wasn’t worth the effort of an argument. “Do you have a place where I can clean up? I’ve been out in the rain, and the man bled on me, and…” She felt dizzy for just a moment, light-headed. “It has been the longest day,” she finished.

“Come this way,” Caudel said, taking her arm and leading her into a long hallway. “You could use a change of clothes, I reckon.”

She looked him up and down. He was as tall as Taggert and twice as big around. No way was there anything in this house that would fit her, even in a pinch. “Well…”

“My late wife, Judith, she was about your size. I guess I shoulda gotten rid of her things years ago, but I never could bring myself to do it.” He grinned. “But I wouldn’t mind at all if you could find something in her closet that would suit this occasion.”

In a small, sparsely furnished bedroom at the end of the hallway, he threw open a closet. “You’ll have to do the choosing. Like I said, I can’t see so well no more, so there’s no telling what I’d pick out. You just take what you want. There’s a bathroom down the hall if you want to clean up a bit. I’ll see to Nick’s leg.”

The contents of the very full closet were brightly colored and years out of fashion. Orange, bright pink, a shade of green so garish it hurt her eyes. A glimpse of tie-dye and a pair of orange bell-bottom pants said “sixties” as surely as if a neon sign hung there. “I’m sure I’ll find something that will do,” she said optimistically.

Caudel was leaving the room when she stopped him with a question. “You know him well?”

He turned in the doorway, a smile on his face. “I gave Nick his first job out of the military, taught him everything I know about the construction business before my eyesight started to fail.” The smile disappeared. “He’s a good man, and he didn’t kill nobody.”

She didn’t believe he had, either, but still… “He shot at me.”

The smile came back. “Ma’am, if he didn’t hit you, he didn’t shoot at you. Nick could shoot the flies off a pile of, uhhh…” He cleared his throat. “Off a pile of sugar,” he said, “and never disturb a single grain.”

For some reason that was a comforting reassurance. Shea turned to the closetful of old clothes and listened to Caudel’s retreating footsteps.

“I shoulda been there.”

Nick opened his eyes at Lenny’s mumbled self-censure. “I told you a thousand times I didn’t want you in the courtroom,” he said. It was the truth. Lenny was more like a father to him than the man he’d called Daddy for the first eleven years of his life. Nick didn’t want Lenny to sit in that courthouse and watch the trial; it would have been an unnecessarily harsh ordeal for the old man. “Besides,” he added, “you can’t drive anymore.”

“I can, too,” Lenny mumbled.

“You’re blind as a bat, you’ve got no business…dammit!” He came up off the couch like a shot when Lenny’s removal of the makeshift bandage proved to be too painful. “Just leave it alone,” he said as Lenny unwrapped his bloodstained jacket and tie.

Lenny ignored the order and took a pair of scissors to his pant leg, cutting the fabric away with an easy touch. “No. It’s going to be cleaned and bandaged properly, and then we’re going to get you out of these filthy clothes and into a warm bed.”

Nick shook his head as he lay back down. The lumpy couch felt as good as any soft bed he’d ever slept in. “They’ll look for me here sooner or later, probably sooner, so I can’t stay. I won’t risk involving you.”

“They won’t think to look here for a while, I reckon,” Lenny insisted.

“Can’t risk it,” Nick whispered.

The roar of water from the bathroom reminded him of Shea’s presence in this house. She should be gone by now; another chance had come and still she didn’t run. He wouldn’t chase after her if she took off now, and neither would Lenny. Nick was crippled and Lenny was half-blind; Shea could walk out of this house and they wouldn’t be able to stop her.

Nick closed his eyes and tried to relax as Lenny very carefully tended to his wounded leg. Nick couldn’t think straight, and that wasn’t good. In fact, it was damn bad. All he could think of with any clarity was one fact: Shea Sinclair smelled great.

When he’d hovered close in the confines of the car, when she’d wrapped her arm around his waist and steadied him, there had been moments when her scent had almost overpowered him. He wanted to bury his nose against her neck and breathe deep, to sleep with that scent in his nostrils.

Nick wondered if he was running a fever; God knows he was delirious.

He should leave right now, while Shea was getting cleaned up and prepared for her grand adventure of a story. Unfortunately, she was right: he needed her. He wouldn’t get far without Shea Sinclair’s help.

As Lenny tended the leg, Nick drifted off. He didn’t wake until he heard Shea’s voice. That voice was already so familiar that it struck a chord somewhere deep inside, like the voice of an old, dear friend.

“How is it?” she whispered.

“Not too bad, considering,” Lenny answered just as softly. They thought he was asleep, and didn’t want to wake him, he supposed. If he had the strength he’d say something and prove them wrong…but he didn’t. “He’s doggone lucky, if you ask me. The bullet grazed his calf. Made a deep furrow, but there doesn’t seem to be any muscle damage to speak of. He lost a lot of blood, though, and he’ll have to watch for infection.”

“I know. I wish we had some antibiotics.” Her voice was a little bit closer now; he could almost feel that voice, as if it vibrated deep inside him. How odd.

“I’ve got part of a prescription I didn’t finish,” Lenny said, a bright note in his voice. “Just a few days’ worth, but it’s better than nothing.”

“Yes, it is,” Shea said, sounding relieved. “He’ll need a change of clothes, too.”

“I rounded up some old clothes I outgrew years ago. They’re on the chair by the fireplace,” Lenny said, groaning as he stood. “I’ll get those pills and a glass of water.”

Nick half opened his eyes. Lenny entered the kitchen, and Shea stood over the recliner by the cold stone fireplace. She wore a pair of tight white pants that ended just below her knees, and a pale blue blouse that was cropped so that the hem hung just at her waist. The severe red suit had disguised her figure, but this outfit enhanced it, hugging every curve. Her dark hair had been pulled back into a thick ponytail.

She turned around, the pile of clothing in her hands, and Nick let his eyes drift closed again.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” she muttered as she kneeled on the floor beside him. “If I had a lick of sense I’d run like hell and not look back.”

Yes, you would.

“Dean will kill me,” she said.

Boyfriend? Husband? Lover?

“Well, maybe Clint and Boone will protect me.”

More boyfriends?

“Goodness knows they’ve saved me often enough.” Shea sighed, and then Nick felt the warmth of her hands on his chest. She flicked one button of his shirt and then another. The tips of her fingers grazed his skin as his shirt came open, and his eyes fluttered open.

“What are you doing?” he whispered harshly.

She wasn’t at all startled that he was awake; she should be. “I’m getting you dressed so we can get out of here.”

“I can dress myself.”

She smiled. “Yes, I’m sure you can.” She’d washed the makeup off her face, revealing smooth skin with just a few pale freckles sprinkled across the nose. Even without lipstick, her lips were rosy, pink and full.

He should push her hand away and finish the job himself, but he didn’t. He liked the occasional brush of her fingers against his skin, and she was so close he could smell her again. He liked it; he liked it too much.

“Can you sit?” She flattened her hand on his back and helped him raise up, and then she slipped the damp white dress shirt off his shoulders.

“Why are you doing this?” he asked as she took a blue-and-green-plaid cotton shirt and helped him into it. Her hands were easy, gentle and sure. He had to remind himself that she wasn’t his friend, she wasn’t his ally, it didn’t matter how good she smelled or how enticing the simple brush of her fingers felt on his skin. “It’s the story, right?”

“Yes,” she said without hesitation. “The story.”

All of a sudden he knew he couldn’t do this. Somehow he had to get rid of the weathergirl. With all the strength he could muster, Nick reached out and took Shea Sinclair’s chin in his hand and made her look him in the eye. He didn’t have the strength to force her to do anything, but he damn well knew how to send her packing.

“I haven’t had a woman in ten months,” he whispered. “I haven’t so much as touched a woman in ten months.”

Her face went pale; her hazel-green eyes widened. But she didn’t back away.

“You want a thrill, weathergirl?” he asked, his voice so soft it was little more than a breath of air. “You think this is fun? Some kind of adventure?” He leaned down, placing his face close to hers. Damn if he couldn’t smell her, feel her breath and the warmth of her skin. Her lips were so close, right there before him and tempting as hell. “I promise you this. You stick around, and as soon as I get my strength back I’ll show you a thrill or two.”

She didn’t back away. “I know what you’re doing, Taggert,” she whispered. “And it’s not going to work. You can’t scare me.”

“Yes, I can.” He reached out with his free hand and touched the base of her throat, let the back of his fingers trail down to the valley of her breasts. She was warm and soft, as he’d known she would be. He watched the movement of his roughened hand on her pale skin, marveled at the way the sight teased his insides and made his head spin more than it had before.

He didn’t want to scare the weathergirl anymore, he wanted to hold her. Hard and fast. He wanted to sleep with her in his arms, that’s all. His mouth drifted closer to her. No, that was not all. He wanted everything; he wanted all of her.

Shea moved her head back and gently grabbed his wrists, moving his wandering hands to his knees. “You’re not well, Mr. Taggert,” she said as she stood. “So I’m going to forgive you for behaving in an inappropriate manner.”

“Oh, thank you,” he muttered dryly. Hell, he’d even failed in frightening her off. Apparently he wasn’t a very imposing figure, at the moment.

Lenny came back into the room with a glass of water and a small plastic bottle of pills. “It’s just four days’ worth, I’m afraid.”

“That’s better than nothing,” Shea said as she leaned forward and began to button the plaid shirt she’d slipped onto Nick before he’d foolishly tried to scare her off.

He brushed her hand away. “Dammit, I can dress myself.”

She backed off and allowed him to finish buttoning the shirt. It was more of an effort than he’d ever let on. When that chore was done, Lenny handed him a pill, which he dutifully took with a swig of water, and Shea tossed a pair of faded jeans onto the couch beside him.